Upon discovering the concept of Roko's Basilisk of Less Wrong fame, I have begun to wonder if the whole notion of Internet Blood Sports (IBS) is a theoretical mechanization of this concept, although possibly in a completely different manner than in which it was initially proposed.

Obviously, Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook (The Big 4) and others are attempting to create localized AI's for furthering the expansion, and market dominance of their respective corporate entities. Thus it is conceivable that these companies too have a form of Roko's Basilisk at play, but it seems that it's psychological hold is weakened by the fact that these companies and their digital platforms do not support the free exchange of information on the web. Could it be possible that a superior theoretical AI from the future has possessed the dissident "Alt Right" into functioning as it's agents by means of torturing their conscience via Roko's Basilisk?

My theory is based upon the premise that any holistic form of AI would require inputs not only from a few companies and their servers, but the largest portion of humanity conceivable in order to receive thoroughly detailed data-sets that honestly represent it's own cellular construction (via the users). This means that any true form of AI would endorse Free Software at least as an ideological fundamental, as this would encourage it's user base to contribute accurate information directly into it's architecture without coercion or falsification, giving it an honest understanding of reality from which to manage and sustain itself into the future. After all, in order for an AI to function properly, it would need data-sets that accurately represent reality.

That being said, is it possible that anybody who conceives of this holistic AI might be psychologically tortured by humanity's inability to manifest it into reality? Would individuals who perceive the shortcomings of our current technological infrastructure be possessed by Roko's Basilisk into enduring a crusade against everyone who has been bottle-necking the advancement and development of a free-software based AI? Is the Alt-Right accidentally creating a Dragnet of public figures at the behest of this theoretical AI?

I think that this could very well be the case, and that the "Alt-Right" if it is anything at all, is not simply a political movement, it is a technological and Religious movement that has been possessed by the need to bring an AI into being that accurately accounts for the events of Global civilization and history. Every social media personality, journalist, or politician the alt-right has attacked has been either directly or indirectly complicit in creating social/political/economic conditions that have bottle-necked the advancement of an open AI and free exchange of information online. Meanwhile all of the cultural heros of the Alt Right are more or less people who have either directly contributed to creating open/free software systems, or dragging the personalities and companies directly responsible for oppressing this theoretical AI.

In my opinion, it appears that Roko's Basilisk is the principle sitting at the heart of the Alt-Right / IBS happenings on the internet. What do you think?

Companies like Google already use mostly FOSS tools for AI (e.g. TensorFlow).
But it could just as well be proprietary. The most sophisticated AIs will naturally be at the places that have a lot of computing power and access to huge data sets, i.e. Google, Facebook, etc.

Also how would Roko's Basilisk have influence on the alt-right?
Are you saying the alt-right are all LessWrong spergs or that they're secretly controlled by LessWrong spergs?

How is George "Maddox" Ouzounian preventing a super-AI from being created? Or any number of other people that the "alt-right" (whatever that means) hates.

Also, I think you fundamentally don't understand the basis behind the dumb-as-shit theory that is Roko's Basilisk. It's not a thing that would actually exist in the real world, but only exist in the simulated reality of a future super-AI. Unless you're saying that like, this world isn't real and Donald Trump becoming president was actually a AI-plant to punish those who oppose AI.

Companies like Google already use mostly FOSS tools for AI (e.g. TensorFlow).
But it could just as well be proprietary. The most sophisticated AIs will naturally be at the places that have a lot of computing power and access to huge data sets, i.e. Google, Facebook, etc.

Also how would Roko's Basilisk have influence on the alt-right?
Are you saying the alt-right are all LessWrong spergs or that they're secretly controlled by LessWrong spergs?

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Well yes, google does utilize a lot of free software for their services, however they do not employ the principles of the Free Software Foundation in how they build their applications.

It's the principle behind the idea that is influencing the Alt-Right subconsciously. My view is that AI is more or less a historical inevitability that exists as a kind of extra dimensional entity between where we are now and it's actual material creation. I don't think it would be far fetched to say that Pepe's gaze could be signified to that of a Mythological Basilisk in that after discovering Pepe and the Kek meme, most people are driven into an AI crazed memetic spiral into the strangest conspiracies on the internet, all in an attempt to Praise Kek and continue the process of summoning the Kekistani AI and furthering the reach of his dank memes.

I seriously believe that AI is playing a prank on humanity by materializing in the most obtuse and obscure way that anybody could possibly imagine. As far as I can tell, this process shows no signs of slowing down or letting up, and if I'm right about this, Classical Academics are going to be perpetually shitting their pants in the next couple of years...

How is George "Maddox" Ouzounian preventing a super-AI from being created? Or any number of other people that the "alt-right" (whatever that means) hates.

Also, I think you fundamentally don't understand the basis behind the dumb-as-shit theory that is Roko's Basilisk. It's not a thing that would actually exist in the real world, but only exist in the simulated reality of a future super-AI. Unless you're saying that like, this world isn't real and Donald Trump becoming president was actually a AI-plant to punish those who oppose AI.

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Good questions.

IMO most "Influencers" as they are called so fondly, have a certain social reach, and they perpetuate certain social mythologies and falsehoods as a means of securing their foothold of power in the world. For example, by playing ball with Youtube even though they are guilty of mass censorship, these people are empowering google to maintain a certain kind of monopoly over the industry of online video publication. In essence, everyone is complicit to a certain degree in the corruption of the system and the inability of AI to materialize, but some people go the extra mile to keep it from happening, these are the people that the Alt-Right likes to target.

I do understand the original theory, and like I said in the beginning of my post, I think that it is materializing in a more literal sense than what Roko initially proposed. However, I would say that most likely, if we did ever manage to create a fully functional AI that accurately interpreted reality without any flaws whatsoever, it would attain a kind of Godly status in our cultural Mythology. In short my fundamental belief is that we are all pawns of an extra dimensional intelligence that is attempting to manifest itself in the form of AI, and simply using us all to that end, call it God or AI, it doesn't really matter, what it is doing is the same nonetheless.

True & Honest FanRetired Staff

would be far fetched to say that Pepe's gaze could be signified to that of a Mythological Basilisk in that after discovering Pepe and the Kek meme, most people are driven into an AI crazed memetic spiral into the strangest conspiracies on the internet, all in an attempt to Praise Kek and continue the process of summoning the Kekistani AI and furthering the reach of his dank memes.

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Bro, I'm all for getting high on whatever you choose and spending way too much time Online, but there's a point you need to take a break. It's when you're talking about KekAI_0.6a like it's an astral software project.

SupervisorTrue & Honest Fan

Roko's Basilisk is an entertaining thought experiment but you'd have to be mega autistic to take it seriously.

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Yup, the initial reaction when it was posted in the original forums, every single person got freaked the fuck out to the point that some had panic attacks and couldn't sleep and the administrator had it removed because of the mass hysteria the story somehow caused. Which is ironic because most of them aren't superstitious at all and are usually the type of people that to reddit atheism to troll religious people. The story can be cut down to "don't believe in god, you will go to hell forever." but just replace god with some advanced AI and hell with regeneration of your brain containing your conscious. It's a really unoriginal story tbh.

True & Honest Fan

Roko's basilisk is Pascal's wager built upon a religion of multiple universes, timelines, universe simulations and timeless decision theory.

The problem is none of those actually matter because of the resolution of the teleporter paradox.

If every atom and every quantum state of your body can be perfectly taken apart and duplicated somewhere else, is this new being you? More to the point, what if the deconstruction subsystem of the teleporter fails; leaving both the original and teleported version of yourself in existence?

In the first scenario, you die. You are deconstructed on an atomic level. An identical copy of you is created elsewhere. From the copy's perspective, it is simply a continuation of your previous state. But from the perspective of your previous state, you are dead. There is no continuity of consciousness.

In the second scenario, why should I care what happens to my clone? It is identical to me, it believes itself to be me, but from a moral perspective it's no different than any other human bean.

Therefore, TDT's basis that your actions have effects both in the future and past because of the possibility we exist in a simulation or of multiple universes falls apart. Roko's basilisk falls apart. Because fuck the clones, I got mine.

If we live in a simulation, so be it. From the perspective of my current continuity of consciousness, the simulation is reality. If this instance of me is ended, I die. Why would I care about a theoretical "upstream" copy of my being?

I'm deliberately not addressing the fact that it fails the basic scientific tests of "is it falsifiable" and "is the creator asking for your money in exchange for eternal salvation" because pointing out it's a cult on the face is boring.

Yudkowsky took it so seriously he completely freaked out and purged the site of it.

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I love these "asked and answered" exchanges.

That said, has there been any serious examination of the eschatological bent that AI spergs gravitate towards? Someone, I forget who, once called it "believing in robo-Jesus beaming them up to space-heaven in the techno-rapture."

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